Write-once optical disc, and method and apparatus for recording/reproducing management information on/from optical disc

ABSTRACT

A write-once optical disc, and an apparatus and method for recording management information on the optical disc are provided. The disc includes at least one recording layer, a plurality of temporary defect management areas (TDMAs) on the at least one recording layer, and a plurality of defect management areas (DMAs) on the at least one recording layer. At least one of the TDMAs includes first and second indicators. The first indicator indicates which TDMA is an in-use TDMA, and the second indicator indicates whether or not the recording medium is closed.

The present application claims, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the prioritybenefit of Patent Application No. 2003-054165 filed in Republic of Koreaon Aug. 5, 2003; Patent Application No. 2003-073088 filed in Republic ofKorea on Oct. 20, 2003; Patent Application No. 2004-032677 filed inRepublic of Korea on May 10, 2004, and U.S. Provisional Application No.60/546,961 filed on Feb. 24, 2004. The entire contents of each of theseapplications are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a write-once optical disc and anapparatus and method for recording/playing-back management informationon/from the optical disc such as a Write-Once Blu-ray Disc (BD-WO).

2. Discussion of the Related Art

As an optical recording medium, optical discs on which high-capacitydata can be recorded are widely being used. Among them, a newhigh-density optical recording medium (HD-DVD), for example, a Blu-raydisc, has been recently developed for recording and storinghigh-definition video data and high-quality audio data for a long-termperiod.

The Blu-ray disc involves the next generation HD-DVD technology and isthe next generation optical recording solution, which has an excellentcapability to store data more than existing DVDs. Recently, a technicalspecification of an international standard for HD-DVD has beenestablished. Various standards for Blu-ray discs are being prepared.Particularly the standards for a write-once Blu-ray disc (BD-WO) arebeing proposed.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the structure of a recording area of arewritable Blu-ray disc (BD-RE) according to a related art. As shown inFIG. 1, the disc is divided into a lead-in zone, a data zone and alead-out zone allocated in the inner-to-outer radius direction. The datazone is provided with an inner spare area (ISA) and an outer spare area(OSA) respectively disposed at the inner and outer radiuses to replacedefective areas, and a user data area provided between the spare areasto record user data therein.

If a defective area is generated in the user data area while data isrecorded on the rewritable Blu-ray disc (BD-RE), data is transferredfrom the defective area to the spare area and is recorded in a portionof the spare area. This portion of the spare area is known as areplacement area for replacing the defective area. Additionally,position information related to the defective area, that is, positioninformation on the defective area and on the corresponding replacementarea is recorded in defect management areas (DMA1, DMA2, DMA3, andDMA4), which are provided in the lead-in/out zones, to perform defectmanagement. The BD-RE has a cluster as a minimal recording-unit. Onecluster has a total of 32 sectors, and one sector has 2048 bytes.

Since rewriting can be performed in any area of the BD-RE, the entirearea of the disc can be randomly used irrespective of a specificrecording manner. Also, since the defect management information can bewritten, erased and rewritten in the defect management areas (DMAs), itdoes not matter that the size of the defect management area is small. Inparticular, the BD-RE allocates and uses 32 clusters for each of thedefect management areas (DMAs).

On the other hand, in a write-once disc such as a BD-WO, writing can beonly made once in a specific area of the disc and thus, the manner ofrecording is much limited. As such, defect management becomes one of theimportant matters when data is to be recorded on a high-densitywrite-once disc such as a BD-WO. Accordingly, the write-once discrequires a management area to record therein information on defectmanagement and on disc management. In this regard, the write-onceoptical disc requires a larger management area for recording informationon the defect management and on the disc use state due to its unique‘write-once’ characteristic.

However, a unified standard satisfying the above requirements is notavailable for a write-once disc such as a BD-WO. Further, any standardrelated to presently declared write-once optical discs cannot solve theabove drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a write-once opticaldisc, and an apparatus and method for recording/playing back managementinformation on/from the optical disc that substantially obviate one ormore problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatusfor separately recording and managing management information on awrite-once disc, thereby enhancing the use efficiency of a plurality oftemporary disc/defect management areas (TDMAs) provided on the disc.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method andapparatus for efficiently recording and playing back an optical discusing management information.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein,there is provided a recording medium comprising: at least one recordinglayer; a plurality of temporary defect management areas (TDMAs) on theat least one recording layer; and a plurality of defect management areas(DMAs) on the at least one recording layer, wherein at least one of theTDMAs includes first and second indicators, the first indicatorindicating which TDMA is an in-use TDMA, and the second indicatorindicating whether or not the recording medium is closed.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided arecording medium comprising: at least one recording layer; a pluralityof temporary management areas on the at least one recording layer; and aplurality of defect management areas (DMAs) on the at least onerecording layer, wherein at least one of the temporary management areasincludes a DMA access indicator indicating whether or not the recordingmedium is closed.

In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of recording management information on a recording medium, therecording medium including a plurality of temporary defect managementareas (TDMAs) on at least one recording layer, and a plurality of defectmanagement areas (DMAs) on the at least one recording layer, the methodcomprising: recording first and second indicators in at least one of theTDMAs, the first indicator indicating which TDMA is an in-use TDMA, andthe second indicator indicating whether or not the recording medium isclosed.

In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of recording management information on a recording medium, therecording medium including a plurality of temporary management areas onat least one recording layer, and a plurality of defect management areas(DMAs) on the at least one recording layer, the method comprising:recording, in at least one of the temporary management areas, a DMAaccess indicator indicating whether or not the recording medium isclosed.

In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of quickly accessing a recording medium, the method comprising:reading TDMA (temporary disc management area) access indicator (TAI)information from a loaded recording medium; determining whether or notthe recording medium is closed based on the TAI information; andaccessing management information from an in-use-TDMA based on the TAIinformation, if the determining step determines that the recordingmedium is not closed.

In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for providing management information on a recording medium,the recording medium including a plurality of temporary defectmanagement areas (TDMAs) on at least one recording layer, and aplurality of defect management areas (DMAs) on the at least onerecording layer, the apparatus comprising: a recording part to recordfirst and second indicators in at least one of the TDMAs, the firstindicator indicating which TDMA is an in-use TDMA, and the secondindicator indicating whether or not the recording medium is closed.

In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for providing management information on a recording medium,the recording medium including a plurality of temporary management areason at least one recording layer, and a plurality of defect managementareas (DMAs) on the at least one recording layer, the apparatuscomprising: a recording part to record, in at least one of the temporarymanagement areas, a DMA access indicator indicating whether or not therecording medium is closed.

In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for quickly accessing a recording medium, the apparatuscomprising: a pickup unit; and a controller controlling the pickup unitto read TDMA (temporary disc management area) access indicator (TAI)information from a loaded recording medium, determining whether or notthe recording medium is closed based on the TAI information, andaccessing management information from an in-use-TDMA based on the TAIinformation if the recording medium is determined to be not closed.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the structure of a rewritableBlu-ray disc according to a related art;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are views respectively illustrating the structure of asingle-layer write-once optical disc and the structure of a dual-layerwrite-once optical disc according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 3A-3E are views illustrating the structure of a TAI and a methodfor recording and using the TAI for a single-layer write-once opticaldisc and a dual-layer write-once optical disc according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4C are views illustrating the structure of a TAI and a methodfor recording and using the TAI for a single-layer write-once opticaldisc and a dual-layer write-once optical disc according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a view illustrating a variety of disc defect management anddisc use state information recorded in a TDMA according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a view illustrating a structure of a TDDS according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views illustrating two examples of the contents of aTAI according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an optical recording/reproducingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an optical recording/playback methodusing an optical recording/reproducing apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

For description convenience, a write-once optical disc is exemplified asa write-once Blu-ray disc (BD-WO).

FIGS. 2A and 2B are views illustrating the structure of a write-onceoptical disc such as a BD-WO and a method for recording managementinformation on the disc according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Particularly, FIG. 2A illustrates a single-layer write-onceoptical disc having one recording layer according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 2B illustrates a dual-layer write-onceoptical disc having two recording layers according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the single-layer optical disc includes a lead-inarea 30, a data area 32 and a lead-out area 34 in the inner-to-outerradius direction. The data area 32 includes an inner spare area (ISA)and an outer spare area (OSA) for replacing defective areas, and a userdata area for recording user data therein. The write-once optical discalso includes a plurality of temporary disc/defect management areasTDMAs in addition to a plurality of disc/defect management areas (DMAs).The DMAs (DMA1-DMA4) are provided in the lead-in and lead-out areas 30and 34. The TDMAs store temporarily management information whereas theDMAs store more permanently the management information. For instance,when the disc is to be finalized or closed, the management informationstored in a TDMA is transferred to and stored in each of the DMAs. Thesame information is repeatedly stored four times using the plurality ofDMAs.

Here, two TDMAs are provided on the disc, and are referred to as a TDMA0and a TDMA1. The TDMA0 having a fixed size (for example, 2048 clusters)is located in the lead-in area 30, and the TDMA1 having a variable sizeis provided in the spare area OSA having a variable size. The TDMA0should be necessarily provided on the disc, whereas the TDMA1 isselectively allocated with various sizes, appropriately. For instance,the size of the TDMA1 can be ¼ of the size (N*256 clusters) of the OSAsuch that P=(N*256/4) clusters where P=size of the TDMA1 and N is apositive integer.

Further, the plurality of TDMAs are used in a specific use sequence. Forinstance, it is used in a sequence of the TDMA0 and then the TDMA1.Identification numbers (TDMA0 and TDMA1) are given to the TDMAs in aserial sequence depending on the use sequence.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, managementinformation for managing the plurality of TDMAs is recorded at the headof the TDMA0. This TDMA management information is referred to herein asa TDMA access indicator (TAI), e.g., element 50 in FIG. 2A. The TAI canalso be referred to as a TLI (TDMA location indicator). The TAIidentifies which TDMA among all the TDMAs to be used in a specific usesequence/order, is an “in-use TDMA”. An “in-use TDMA” is a TDMA that iscurrently being used/accessed or that is currently available for use,among all the TDMAs having the designated use sequence. The TAI alsoprovides information on whether or not the disc is currentlyclosed/finalized.

The TAI allows an initial disc access time to be reduced greatly sincethe TAI identifies the in-use TDMA and thus, information on the lastdefect management and on the disc use state can be quickly obtained fromthe identified in-use TDMA. This is beneficial especially when the discis initially loaded. Without the TAI, all the TDMAs have to be scannedto determine which TDMA is the in-use TDMA in order to obtain thenecessary management information from that in-use TDMA.

In the single-layer write-once disc of FIG. 2A, the TAI 50 is providedby first two head clusters 50 a and 50 b among the fixed 2048 clustersof the TDMA0.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, the dual-layer writer-onceoptical disc includes a first recording layer (Layer 0) and a secondrecording layer (Layer 1). The first recording layer (Layer 0) includesa lead-in area 40 and an outer zone 0 respectively at the inner andouter radius areas of the disc. The second recording layer (Layer 1)includes a lead-out area 41 and an outer zone 1 respectively at theinner and outer radius areas of the disc. The lead-in and lead-out areas40 and 41 are known as inner zones.

Further, the disc includes a data area 42 on each of the recodinglayers. The data area of the first recording layer (Layer 0) includesinner and outer spare areas ISAO and OSAO, and a user data area 43therebetween. The user area of the second recording layer (Layer 1)includes inner and outer spare areas ISA1 and OSA1 and a user data area44 therebetween. The ISAO has a fixed size such as 2048 clusters. TheISA1, OSA0 and OSA1 have variable sizes. For instance, the size of theISA1 may be (L*256) clusters and the size of each of the OSA0 and OSA1may be (N*256) clusters where L and N are positive integers. The discalso includes a plurality of DMAs (DMA1-DMA4) in the lead-in area 40,the outer zones 0, 1 and the lead-out area 41. The same information isrepeatedly recorded in the DMAs for the redundancy purpose.

Furthermore, the disc includes a plurality of TDMAs (TDMA0, TDMA1,TDMA2, TDMA3 and TDMA4) in addition to the DMAs. The TDMA0 and the TDMA1exist in the lead-in and lead-out areas 40 and 41 (inner zones) and havefixed sizes (e.g., 2048 clusters). The TDMA2, the TDMA3 and the TDMA4are provided with variable sizes that vary according to the variablesizes of the corresponding spare areas. For instance, the size of eachof the TDMA2, TDMA3 and TDMA4 can be ¼ of the size of the correspondingspare area. In one example, the TDMA2 and the TDMA3 each have the sizeof P=N*256/4 clusters, and the TDMA4 has the size of Q=L*256/4 clusters.

Moreover, all the TDMAs are used in a specific use sequence. Forinstance, the TDMA0-TDMA4 are used in the sequence of the TDMA0 toTDMA4. This means, whenever recording is desired to a TDMA, the TDMA0 isfirst used to record therein. When the TDMA0 is full, i.e., fully usedup, then the TDMA1 is next used to record therein. When the TDMA1 isfull, then the TDMA2 is next used to record therein, and so on.Identification numbers (TDMA0 to TDMA4) are given to the TDMAs in aserial sequence depending on the use sequence.

As in the single-layer write-once disc of FIG. 2A, the dual-layeroptical disc of FIG. 2B also includes a TAI 57 at the head area of theTDMA0 preferably located in the lead-in area 40 of the disc. Generallysince more TDMAs are provided on the dual-layer optical disc compared tothe single-layer disc, providing the TAI on the dual-layer optical discis of great importance.

In the dual-layer optical disc, the TAI is represented by first fivehead clusters 57 a-57 e among the fixed 2048 clusters of the TDMA0.

FIGS. 3A to 3B are views illustrating the structure of a TAI accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A illustrates thestructure and use of a TAI in a single-layer write-once optical discsuch as a single-layer BD-WO, and FIG. 3B illustrates the structure anduse of a TAI in a dual-layer write-once optical disc such as adual-layer BD-WO. The structures of the TAI as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3Bare applicable to the discs shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

As shown in FIG. 3A, in the single-layer write-once optical disc, theTAI 50 is composed of the first two head clusters 50 a and 50 b of theTDMA0 on the disc. One of the two TAI clusters 50 a and 50 b is used asa DMA disc closing indicator 51 for informing whether or not the opticaldisc is finalized/closed, and the other one of the two TAI clusters 50 aand 50 b cluster is used as a TDMA1 in-use indicator 52 for indicatingwhether or not the TDMA1 is the in-use TDMA. In this example, the firsthead cluster 50 a of the TAI 50 functions as the DMA disc closingindicator 51, and the second head cluster 50 b functions as the TDMA1in-use indicator. However, this allocated order can be switched asneeded.

The TDMA1 in-use indicator 52 indicates directly whether or not thecorresponding TDMA1 is the in-use TDMA. This indication is implementedby providing certain recording in the second cluster 50 b of the TAI 50.If the TAI cluster 50 b has this certain recording therein, then the TAIcluster 50 b is said to be in the ‘recorded state’. If the TAI cluster50 b does not have this certain recording therein, then the TAI cluster50 b is said to be not in the recorded state. If the TAI cluster 50 b(the TDMA1 in-use indicator 52) is not in the recorded state, it meansthat the firstly used TDMA0 is the in-use-TDMA. If the TAI cluster 50 bis in the recorded state, it means that the next TDMA1 is thein-use-TDMA, which means the firstly used TDMA0 is full, i.e., fullyused up, so that there is no recording space in the TDMA0.

Accordingly, by examining the recorded/unrecorded state of the TAIcluster 50 b, a recording/reproducing apparatus can identify quicklywhich TDMA can and should be currently used during a data recordingoperation of the disc. This reduces the disc access time greatly andprovides an efficient and effective way to carry data recordingoperations of the disc.

The DMA disc closing indicator 51 functions to inform whether or not thewrite-once optical disc is closed/finalized. This can be realized byrecording certain data in the first cluster 50 a of the TAI. If there issuch recording in the first TAI cluster 50 a, then the first TAI cluster50 a is said to be in the recorded state and the recorded state of thefirst TAI cluster 50 a means the disc is finalized/closed. If there isno such recording in the first TAI cluster 50 a, then the first TAIcluster 50 a is said to be not in the recorded state, which in turnmeans the disc is not yet finalized/closed.

A user or host can request the disc to be closed, or the closing of thedisc can be triggered automatically if there is no user data area ormanagement data area to record user data/management data therein. Oncethe disc is closed, the disc is essentially in a read-only state,thereby making it impossible to record user data subsequently. Theclosing of the disc is also referred to as finalizing the disc or discfinalization.

If the disc is to be closed as described above, the opticalrecording/playback apparatus transfers and records the latest managementinformation from the latest TDMA into each of the DMAs. At this time,the first TAI cluster 50 a (DMA disc closing indicator cluster 51) isrecorded with data (e.g., dummy data or some other data) to be placed inthe recorded state. The recorded state of the first TAI cluster 50 aindicates that the disc is closed.

As shown in FIG. 3C, if none of the TAI clusters 50 a and 50 b are inthe recorded state, it means that the in-use-TDMA is the TDMA0 as thefirst TDMA and the disc is not closed.

Placing the TAI clusters 50 a and 50 b in the recorded state is done byrecording the TAI clusters 50 a and 50 b with some data. This can berealized by recording the TAI clusters 50 a and 50 b with high frequencysignals, dummy data, or real data (meaningful data). For instance, thelatest temporary disc definition structure (TDDS) information of thecorresponding TDMA can be recorded into the corresponding TAI cluster asan example of using real data to place the TAI cluster in the recordedstate. Examples of recording such real data in the TAI clusters will bedescribed later reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B.

Accordingly, the TAI includes the disc closing information as well asinformation on the in-use-TDMA among the TDMAs.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the dual-layer disccan have up to five TDMAs (TDMA0-TDMA4). Then the TAI for such a disc iscomposed of the first five head clusters of the TDMA0, where the firsthead cluster of the TDMA0 functions as the DMA disc closing indicatorand the next four head clusters (second to fifth clusters) of the TDMA0function as the TDMA in-use indicators. The second to fifth clusters ofthe TDMA0 correspond respectively to the TDMA1-TDMA4 such that theyfunction as the TDMA1-TDMA4 in-use indicators, respectively. Each ofthese TDMA in-use indicators, as discussed in connection with FIG. 3A,indicates whether or not the corresponding TDMA is the in-use TDMA.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example of the structure of a TAI 57 for thedual-layer write-once disc of FIG. 2B according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 3B, the TAI 57 is composed of firstto fifth head clusters 57 a-57 e of the TDMA0. The first TAI cluster 57a functions as a DMA disc closing indicator 51. The second to fifth TAIclusters 57 b-57 e function respectively as TDMA4-TDMA1 in-useindicators 55-52. As such, the second to fifth TAI clusters 57 b-57 eare used in the order of decreasing address, which is indicated by the‘recording direction’ arrow. That is, recording in the TAI clusters 57b-57 e occurs sequentially from the cluster 57 e to the cluster 57 b.However, these clusters can be used in the reverse direction.

If none of the second to fifth TAI clusters 57 b-57 e are in therecorded state, it means that the firstly used TDMA0 is the in-use-TDMA.If the fifth TAI cluster 57 e (TDMA1 in-use indicator 52) alone is inthe recorded state, it means that the TDMA0 is full and the TDMA1 is thein-use-TDMA. If only the fifth and fourth TAI clusters 57 e and 57 d arein the recorded state, it means that the TDMA0 and TDMA1 are full andthe TDMA2 is the in-use-TDMA. This is illustrated in FIG. 3D. The restof the in-use indicator clusters are used in the similar manner.

If all the clusters 57 a-57 e of the TAI 57 are in the recorded state asshown in FIG. 3E, it means that the current disc is closed, and no datacan now be recorded on any area of the disc. Thus, only a reproductionof the disc may be allowed.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are views illustrating the structure of a TAI accordingto another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A illustrates thestructure and use of a TAI in a single-layer write-once optical discsuch as a single-layer BD-WO, and FIGS. 4B and 4C illustrate thestructure and use of a TAI in a dual-layer write-once optical disc suchas a dual-layer BD-WO. The structures of the TAI as shown in FIGS. 4A-4Care applicable to the discs and TAI (57) shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

In this embodiment, the TAI indicates which TDMA is the in-use TDMA byindicating which TDMA(s) are full. In the example of FIGS. 4A-4C, assumethat the TDMAs are used sequentially from the TDMA0 to the TDMA1(single-layer disc), or to the TDMA4 (dual-layer disc) as discussedabove. Also the TAI is used in a sequence starting from the TAI clusterhaving a low PSN to the TAI cluster having a high PSN.

As shown in FIG. 4A, in the example of the single-layer disc, twoclusters 172 a and 172 b are allocated for a TAI 172. The first andsecond TAI clusters 172 a and 172 b function respectively as a TDMA0full indicator 173 and a TDMA1 full indicator 174. Accordingly, if onlythe TDMA0 is full, the first TAI cluster 172 a (TDMA0 full indicator173) alone is indicated as being in the recorded state. This means thatthe TDMA1 is the in-use TDMA and can be used. If the first TAI cluster172 a is not in the recorded state, it means that the TDMA0 is not yetfull and is available for use. That is, the TDMA0 is the in-use TDMA andcan be used. If both the first and second TAI clusters 172 a and 172 aare in the recorded state, then the TDMA0 and TDMA1 are all full, whichmeans there is no TDMA available for recording management informationand the disc is closed/finalized.

As shown in FIG. 4B, in the dual-layers write-once disc, first throughfifth clusters 175 a-175 e are allocated for a TAI 175 and are recordedsequentially in that order in this example. The first to fifth cluster175 a-175 e correspond to the TDMA0 to TDMA4, respectively, and functionas TDMA0-TMDA4 full indicators 176-180, respectively. Each TAI clusterindicates whether or not the corresponding TDMA if full.

Accordingly, for instance, If no TAI cluster is in the recorded state,it means that the TDMA0 is the in-use TDMA. If only the first TAIcluster 175 a is in the recorded state, it means that the TDMA0 is fulland the in-use-TDMA is the TDMA1. If only the first and second TAIclusters 175 a and 175 b are in the recorded state, it means that theTDMA0 and TDMA1 are fully used and the TDMA2 is currently available foruse. If all five TAI clusters 175 a-175 e are in the recorded state asshown in FIG. 4C, it means that the TDMA0 to the TDMA4 are all fullyused up and there is no usable TDMA. In this case, since thecorresponding disc has no area for recording the TDMS informationtherein, the disc is finalized/closed.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 4A-4C, the TDMA full indicators of the TAIcan be used to determine whether or not the disc is finalized/closed andthus can function also as the disc closing indicator. For instance, ifthe TAI cluster 174 (TDMA1 full indicator) in the example of FIG. 4A isin the recorded state, it means that the disc is closed/finalized. Inthe example of FIG. 4C, if the TAI cluster 180 (TDMA4 full indicator) isin the recorded state, it means that the disc is closed/finalized.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, the TAI clustersshown in FIGS. 3A-4C can be used sequentially in the order of decreasingaddress or increasing address. However, it may be desirable that therecording of the TAI clusters is performed in a sequence starting fromthe cluster having a high PSN (Physical Sector Number) to the clusterhaving a lower PSN, as shown in FIG. 3B. This prevents interference withan OPC (Optimum Power Calibration, not shown) disposed in the innerradius direction adjacently to the TDMA0.

According to the present invention, since the recording/reproducingapparatus checks for a recorded state within the TAI to determine thelocation of the in-use-TDMA if the disc is loaded, therecording/reproducing apparatus can quickly move to a start location ofthe in-use-TDMA to read the lastly recorded TDMS (temporary discmanagement structure) information therefrom, thereby initially obtaininga variety of initialization information for playback. However, if thereis no TAI, the recording/reproducing apparatus has to scan all TDMAsbeginning from the TDMA0 to search for an available TDMA. This is adrawback because a long disc access time is needed for initial playback.Thus the present invention solves the above drawback effectively byproviding and using the TAI. Moreover, the DMA disc closing indicator ofthe TAI quickly indicates whether or not any recording can be made tothe disc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, if the single-layerwrite-once disc has more than two TDMAs or if the dual-layer write-oncedisc has a certain number of TDMAs, then the total number of TAIclusters present in the TAI as the TDMA in-use indicators changesaccording to the total number of TDMAs present on the disc. Forinstance, if there is an X number of TDMAs on the disc, then there is an(X−1) number of TAI clusters that function as the TDMA in-useindicators. Each of such TAI clusters would correspond to one of theTDMAs, generally excluding the first TDMA (TDMA0), in the order of theTDMA use sequence.

The TAI 50, 57, 172, 175 is located at the head of the TDMA0 located inthe lead-in area of the single layer or dual-layer disc as shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B. However, any location of the TAI on the disc isacceptable if it is located within an area which a recording/reproducingapparatus can initially recognize as the management area. In thisregard, the data area of the disc may be excluded. For instance, the TAIcan alternatively be provided at the end portion of the TDMA0. Asanother alternative, the TAI can be provided within one, some or each ofthe DMAs of the single-layer/dual-layer write-once disc.

FIG. 5A illustrates a variety of information on the disc defectmanagement and on the disc use state, where this information is recordedin the TDMAs. Whenever recording is performed on the disc, the recordingis generally performed by more than one cluster, a cluster beinggenerally a minimal recording-unit. Various disc management informationrecorded in the TDMA (e.g., TDM0, TDMA1, TDMA2, TDMA3, or TDMA4) iscollectively referred to herein as TDMS (temporary disc managementstructure) information. The TDMS information can be changed or addeddepending on a standard.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the TDMS information includes, but is not limitedto, a Temporary Defect List (TDFL) for recording disc defect managementinformation, a Sequential Recording Range Information (SRRI) applied ina sequential recording mode as information for representing the disc usestate, a Space-Bit Map (SBM) applied in a random recording mode, and aTemporary Disc Definition Structure (TDDS) information including recentlocation information of the TDFL and the SRRI (or SBM). The SRRI and theSBM may not be concurrently used, and either the SRRI or SBM is recordedon the disc depending on the recording mode.

As an example, in the context of the disc structure shown in FIGS. 2Aand 2B, each of the TDMA0˜TDMA4 includes one or more TDFLs/SBMs/SRRIseach recorded with a TDDS in one cluster at each recording/updatingtime, as shown in FIG. 5A. That is, each recording of a TDFL/SBM/SRRIwith a TDDS is allotted one cluster. Generally, the last sector of eachsuch cluster is designated to store therein the TDDS information asshown in FIG. 5A. However, the first sector, instead of the last sector,of each such cluster can also be used to store the TDDS information.

The TDDS information includes general disc record/playback information,and is generally always checked at the time of loading the disc in therecord/playback apparatus since it includes pointer information forindicating the recent locations of the TDFL and the SRRI (or SBM) asdescribed above. According to the disc use state, the TDDS informationis continuously updated and the updated TDDS information is written inthe TDMA at each update/recording time. Thus, the last TDDS in thelatest TDMA used should be checked to access a variety of managementinformation on a current disc use state.

FIG. 5B is a view illustrating the structure of a TDDS according to anembodiment of the present invention. This structure can be applied toany disc structure having a TDDS therein. Referring to FIG. 5B, avariety of information recorded in the TDDS includes, but is not limitedto: a TDDS identifier” field 61 and a “TDDS format” field 62 fordistinguishing a property of the TDDS; a “TDDS Update Count” field 63for indicating update times of the TDDS; a “first PSN of Drive Area”field 64 for recording a variety of drive information; a “first PSN ofDefect List” field 65 for indicating a first physical sector number ofthe defect list in case where the disc is closed; a “Location of LSN 0of User Data Area” field 66 (LSN=last sector number) and a “last LSN ofUser Data Area” field 67 for indicating a start and an end of the userdata area; an “Inner Spare Area 0 size” field 68, an “Outer Spare Areasize” field 69 and an “Inner Spare Area 1 size” field 70 for indicatingthe size of the corresponding spare area; a “Spare Area Full flags”field 71 for selectively indicating whether or not the spare areas arefully used (full); a “Recording Mode” field 72 for indicating a discrecording mode such as a sequential recording mode or a random recordingmode; a “general flag bits” field 73 for indicating whether or not thewrite-protection of the disc exists; an “Inconsistency flags” field 74for indicating an update state of the TDMS information; a “Last RecordedAddress of User Data Area” field 75 for indicating a location of thelast recorded user data within the user data area; a “Size of TDMAs inOuter Spare Area” field 76 and a “Size of TDMS in Inner Spare Area 1”field 77 for indicating the size of the corresponding TDMA allocatedwithin the spare area; a “First PSN of 1^(st) Cluster of Defect List”field 78 for indicating a first physical sector number of the latestdefect list in the latest TDMA area to a “first PSN of 8^(th) Cluster ofDefect List” field 79 for indicating the 8^(th) physical sector number(Defect list generally does not exceed four clusters in the single-layeroptical disc and eight clusters in the dual-layer optical disc); a“first PSN of SRRI/SBM for L0” field 80 and a “first PSN of SBM for L1”field 81 for indicating the location of the SRRI (or SBM), which isfinally recorded in a sequential or random recording mode; a “nextavailable PSN of ISA0” field 82, a “next available PSN of OSA0” field83, a “next available PSN of ISA1” field 84, a “next available PSN ofOSA1” field 85 for indicating a next available physical sector number inthe corresponding spare area; and a “Year/Month/Data of recording” field86 for indicating a recording time, and a “Drive ID” field 87 forindicating a manufacture company, an additional identification, a serialnumber and the like.

Some of these fields of the TDDS can be non-variable fields (notupdated). Such fields may include the “TDDS identifier” field 61, the“Inner Spare Area 0, 1 size” fields 68-70, the “Outer Spare Area size”field 69, the “Recording Mode” field 72, the “Size of TDMAs in OuterSpare Area” field 76, the “Size of TDMAs in Inner Spare Area 1” field 77among the TDDS information discussed above. For description convenience,information included in these non-variable fields is called “fixedmanagement field” information. Since the fixed management fieldinformation is the same no matter which TDDS is played-back, the entirestructure of the disc, the recording manner and the like can bedetermined through this information.

Further, some of the fields of the TDDS may need to be continuouslyupdated according to a need. Such fields may include the “first PSN of1^(st) Cluster of Defect List” . . . “first PSN Of 8^(th) Cluster ofDefect List” field 78 . . . 79, the “next available PSN of ISA0” field82, the “next available PSN of OSA0” field 83, the “next available PSNof ISA1” field 84, and the “next available PSN of OSA1” field 85. Fordescription convenience, information included in these variable fieldsis called “variable management field” information.**

Accordingly, if the TDDS information is recorded in the TAI and isplayed-back according to an embodiment of the present invention, theentire disc structure, the recording manner/mode and the like can befirstly determined through the fixed management field information. Forinstance, a corresponding TDMA is easily accessed through the sizeinformation of the TDMA area included in the fixed management fieldinformation.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate two examples of different contents of the TAIcluster according to an embodiment of the present invention. AlthoughFIGS. 6A and 6B show one TAI cluster, each cluster of the TAI discussedherein can have the same or similar content structure.

Particularly, FIGS. 6A and 6B are examples of recording certain realdata into the TAI clusters to selectively place the TAI clusters intothe recorded state. Some or all of such real data recorded in the TAIcan be directly used to indicate whether or not the TAI cluster(s) is inthe recorded state so as to identify the in-use TDMA as discussed above.The use of such real data has an advantage in that additional relevantinformation can be provided by the TAI in addition to the indication ofthe current in-use TDMA. It should be noted, however, that dummy data orany other designated signals can be recorded into the TAI clusters toindicate the recorded/unrecorded state of the TAI clusters. The TAIcontent structures of FIGS. 6A and 6B are applicable to the TAI and discstructures shown in FIGS. 2A-5B and the methods of FIG. 8.

According to one example as shown in FIG. 6A, the TAI cluster, whichcorresponds to a particular TDMA (or latest TDMA in case that the TAIcluster indicates the disc closing) as discussed above, includes thelatest TDDS information associated with the TDMA corresponding to theTAI cluster, in addition to the information indicating whether thecorresponding TDMA is the in-use TDMA. In case where the last TDDS isrecorded in the last cluster of each TDMA, the TDMA including the latestTDDS and the in-use-TDMA can be different from each other, which in turncan cause errors when accessing the disc. By providing the additionalinformation in the TAI as in FIG. 6A, such an error can be prevented.

A detailed description of this situation is as follows by referring toFIG. 6A. First, assume that the TAI is recorded in cluster units, acluster being the minimal recording-unit. In the first sector (Sector 0)of the TAI cluster having 32 sectors, there exist an identificationfield 92 (“TAI identifier”) for allowing the recognition of the TAIinformation, a TAI format information field 93 (“TAI format”) relatedwith a version of the current disc, and a TAI update count field 94(“TAI update count”) for increasing a count value by 1 whenever the TAIis updated. The update count field 94 can also be used even as theinformation for indicating how many clusters may be present within theTAI. Further, there exists a TDDS location field 95 (“Latest TDDSlocation”) for providing information on the TDMA in which the latestTDDS information is located.

The remaining area 96 of the first sector (Sector 0) of the TAI clusteris used to indicate the recorded or unrecorded state of the TAI clusterby using a predetermined value (for example, setting the field to“00h”). For instance, if the remaining area 96 of Sector 0 of the TAIcluster has certain designated recording as discussed above, then theTAI cluster is said to be in the recorded state to indicate the in-usestatus of the corresponding TDMA or the disc closing as discussed abovein connection with FIGS. 3A-4C.

The TDDS location field 95 in the first sector (Sector 0) of the TAIcluster identifies a TDMA in which the latest TDDS information isrecorded irrespective of whether or not that TDMA is fully used up. Forexample, the values of this field 95 can be defined so that “0000 0000b”means the latest TDDS exists in the TDMA0, “0000 0001b” means the latestTDDS exists in the TDMA2, “0000 0011b” means the latest TDDS exists inthe TDMA3, and “0000 0100b” means the latest TDDS exists in the TDMA4.Other examples are possible. Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 3C, ifthe second cluster 50 b of the TAI 50 alone is in the recorded state(e.g., the area 96 of the TAI cluster 50 b in FIG. 3C is in the recordedstate) and the TDDS location field 95 (i.e., of the second TAI cluster50 b in FIG. 3C) has a value of “0000 0000b”, it means the usable TDMAis the TDMA1, but the last updated TDDS (latest TDDS information) islocated within the TDMA0 on the disc.

In addition, the latest TDDS information is recorded into a TDDSinformation field 97 (“Latest TDDS”) of the second sector (Sector 1 ofthe TAI cluster). As a result, the TAI can be utilized even forrecovering the latest TDDS information directly. This is advantageoussince, even if the latest TDDS information recorded in the latest TDMAas part of the TDMS information is damaged, the important TDDSinformation will not be lost since it can recovered from the TAIrecorded in the TDMA0. Some or all of the remaining sectors (98) of theTAI cluster can have a copy of the latest TDDS information stored in theTDDS information field 97. Each TDDS information is recorded in onesector size. Thus, for instance, if 3 sectors of the TAI cluster areeach recorded with the same latest TDDS information, this means that thelatest TDDS information is stored three times in the TAI.

The latest TDDS information stored in the field 97 of the TAI clustercan be the last TDDS information or the first TDDS information. Forinstance, if the TDMA corresponding to the TAI cluster becomes thein-use TDMA, then recording in the field 96 is made to indicate that thecorresponding TDMA is currently in use. At this time, the first TDDSinformation recorded in the corresponding TDMA is copied and recordedinto the TDDS information field 97 of the TAI cluster as the latest TDDSinformation. The first TDDS information is recorded in the field 97because the corresponding TDMA is still in use and is not full at thattime. Thus, according to a time point when the TAI is updated, thelatest TDDS information recorded in the TAI can be the last TDDSrecorded within the corresponding TDMA (e.g., when the correspondingTDMA is full), or can be the first TDDS recorded within the in-use-TDMA(i.e., when the corresponding TDMA is currently available for use).

As another example, the latest TDDS information can be copied up to 32times into the TAI cluster. Any remaining sector of the TAI cluster canbe set to a certain value such as 00h if it is not used. Since each TDDSinformation recording is allotted with one sector size, this means theentire TAI cluster can be recorded with the same latest TDDS informationup to 32 times as shown in FIG. 6B. In this example, the first TDDSinformation recorded in the corresponding TDMA is recorded 32 times inthe TAI cluster. And the recording of the first TDDS information in theTAI cluster is directly used as the TDMA in-use/disc closing indicatorof the TAI cluster. This is an example of using the recording of realdata (such as the TDDS information) in the TAI cluster to selectivelyindicate whether or not the TAI cluster is in the recorded state. Thus,the TAI cluster, not only indicates which TDMA is the in-use TDMA orwhether or not the disc is closed, but also provides the latest TDDSinformation associated with the corresponding TDMA.

Accordingly, the optical recording/playing-back apparatus can examinethe TAI from the loaded disc to determine whether or not the disc isclosed. If the disc is closed, the last TDDS information of the disc canbe obtained by reading the latest TDDS information recorded in the TAIcluster. Further, the TAI can be examined to identify the location ofthe in-use TDMA since it indicates which TDMA is currently the in-useTDMA. Further, by accessing and using the “fixed management field”information within the TDDS information recorded in the correspondingTAI cluster, the spare areas can be allocated or not allocated on thedisc, and the allocation size of the spare areas and/or TDMAs may beobtained.

After that, the recording/playing-back apparatus can move a pickup tothe in-use-TDMA area to perform the scan from the beginning of thecorresponding TDMA area, thereby confirming the last recorded TDDS.Therefore, the “variable management field” information recorded in theTDDS can be confirmed and the confirmed information can be used to allowthe reading of the last TDFL, SRRI (or SBM), thereby reading informationon the entire disc recording state and defect areas.

Hereinafter, the optical recording and playback method and apparatususing the TAI according to an embodiment of the present invention isdiscussed.

FIG. 7 illustrates a recording/reproducing apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention. The methods of the presentinvention can be implemented by the apparatus of FIG. 7 or othersuitable device/system. The recording/reproducing apparatus includes arecording/reproducing unit 10 for performing reproduction and/orrecording from/on an optical disc, and a control unit (or host) 20 forcontrolling the recording/reproducing unit 10. The control unit 20 sendsa record command or a reproduce command for a specific area on the discto the reproducing unit 10. The recording/reproducing unit 10 performsthe recording/reproduction in the specific area according to the commandof the control unit 20. The recording/reproducing unit 10 can employ anoptical drive.

The recording/reproducing unit 10 can include an interface unit 12 forperforming communication with an external device such as the controlunit 20; a pickup unit 11 for directly recording or reproducing datato/from the optical disc; a data processor 13 for receiving thereproduction signal from the pickup unit 11 to convert the receivesignal into appropriate signal values, or for modulating ato-be-recorded signal into an appropriate recording signal for theoptical disc; a servo unit 14 for controlling the pickup unit 11 toprecisely read the signals from the optical disc, or to precisely recordthe signals on the optical disc; a memory 15 for temporarily storing avariety of information including the management information and data;and a microprocessor 16 for controlling the operations and structuralelements within the unit 10.

A description of a disc playback method using the TAI in arecording/reproducing apparatus according to any embodiment of thepresent invention is now provided referring to FIG. 8.

As shown in FIG. 8, if the write-once optical disc is loaded in theoptical recording/reproducing apparatus, the apparatus moves to theTDMA0 of the disc to read the TAI (S10). It is determined whether or notthe loaded disc is closed by examining the TAI information,particularly, the DMA disc-closing indicator of the TAI (S20).

At this time, if it is determined that the disc is closed since the DMAdisc closing indicator cluster is in the recorded state, the apparatusmoves the pick-up unit to a designated area (e.g., a DMA) to read thelast recorded management information (S30). In case where the disc isclosed as described above, recording on the disc can no longer beperformed. Therefore, the management information is utilized to performthe playback of data (S40). On the other hand, if it is determined thatif the disc is not closed, the recording/reproducing apparatus moves tothe in-use-TDMA indicated by the TDMA in-use indicator cluster(s) of theTAI to read the management information including the latest TDDSinformation recorded in the in-use-TDMA (S50). Such TDDS information mayalso be obtained from the TAI. Also the recording/reproducing apparatusfirst reads the “fixed management field” information from the TDDSrecorded in the TAI to obtain information on the entire disc structureand the like and then, can also move to the currently in-use TDMA areato read the latest “variable management field” information.

As described above, after the last management information of the disc isread, the data is recorded or played-back according to a user'sselection or as needed (S60).

Applying the method of FIG. 8 to the apparatus of FIG. 7, if the opticaldisc is loaded, the recording/reproducing unit 10 obtains a variety ofrecorded disc information from the loaded optical disc. Specifically, ifthe loaded optical disc is the write-once optical disc, for example,BD-WO, the microcomputer 16 accesses the TAI and obtains the TAIinformation recorded in the TDMA0 area in order to determine whether ornot the loaded disc is closed and to obtain the location of thein-use-TDMA.

If the disc is determined to be closed in view of the TAI information,the recording can be no longer performed on the disc. Therefore, therecording/reproducing unit 10 performs the disc playback through aplayback command of the control unit 20 under the control of themicrocomputer 16. If the disc is not closed in view of the TAIinformation, the location of the in-use-TDMA to obtain the last TDMSinformation recorded in the in-use TDMA is obtained from the TAI, andthe obtained TDMS information is utilized to perform the playback by therecording/reproducing unit 10 under the control of the microcomputer 16according to a playback command of the control unit 20.

On the other hand, a method for recording the TAI using the opticalrecording/reproducing apparatus of FIG. 7 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention is described as follows.

The microcomputer 16 within the playback unit 10 records the TDMSinformation to the plurality of TDMAs in a specific use sequence. Forexample, the TDMA0 first is used. If the TDMA0 is fully used up, theTDMA1 in-use indicator cluster of the TAI within the TDMA0 is changed tobe in the recorded state to indicate that the TDMA1 is currently in use.The recorded state of the TDMA1 in-use indicator cluster can be realizedby recording the recorded TDDS information already recorded in the TDMA0or some other designated data as discussed above.

In case where there is no longer any cluster to be recorded or the discis closed by a closing command of the control unit 20 according to auser's request or like while recording is performed, the microcomputer16 controls to transfer and record the latest TDMS information, which isrecorded in the latest TDMA, into each of the DMAs (duplicate recordingfor redundancy purpose), and controls to change the DMA disc closingindicator cluster of the TAI to be in the recorded state.

When the disc is in an idle state or in a disc eject state after thedisc recording is all finished, the location of the in-use-TDMA isdetermined such that the above operation can change the specific clusterwithin the corresponding TAI to be in a batch record state.

As described above, the present invention has an advantage in that thewrite-once optical disc is efficiently used through a method forrecording and using the TAI including both the TDMA in-use indicator(s)and the disc closing indicator. By accessing the TAI initially, theidentity of the in-use TDMA at that time can be quickly obtained,information on whether or not the disc is closed can be easily obtained,and management information such as the latest TDDS information can alsobe easily obtained.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus,it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A recording medium comprising: at least one recording layer; aplurality of temporary defect management areas (TDMAs) on the at leastone recording layer; and a plurality of defect management areas (DMAs)on the at least one recording layer, wherein at least one of the TDMAsincludes first and second indicators, the first indicator indicatingwhich TDMA is in use, and the second indicator indicating whether or notthe recording medium is closed.
 2. The recording medium of claim 1,wherein the first and second indicators are stored in a first TDMAlocated in a lead-in area of the recording medium.
 3. The recordingmedium of claim 2, wherein the first and second indicators are stored atfirst head clusters of the first TDMA.
 4. The recording medium of claim1, wherein the first indicator includes at least one first indicatorunit, each first indicator unit corresponding to one of the TDMAs. 5.The recording medium of claim 4, wherein each of the first indicatorunits stores a temporary disc definition structure (TDDS) information ofthe corresponding TDMA.
 6. The recording medium of claim 5, wherein theTDDS information in each of the first indicator units is a first TDDSinformation stored in the corresponding TDMA.
 7. The recording medium ofclaim 5, wherein the TDDS information in each of the first indicatorunits is stored repeatedly up to 32 times.
 8. The recording medium ofclaim 1, wherein the second indicator includes a temporary discdefinition structure (TDDS) information of a last TDMA.
 9. The recordingmedium of claim 8, wherein the TDDS information in the second indicatoris a first TDDS information stored in the last TDMA.
 10. The recordingmedium of claim 8, wherein the TDDS information in the second indicatoris stored repeatedly up to 32 times.
 11. The recording medium of claim4, wherein the first indicator units are used sequentially in thedirection of descending address.
 12. The recording medium of claim 4,wherein a total number of the first indicator units is less than a totalnumber of the TDMAs present on the at least one recording layer.
 13. Therecording medium of claim 2, wherein the second indicator has a size ofone cluster, which is the first head cluster of the first TDMA.
 14. Therecording medium of claim 13, wherein the first indicator has a size ofone cluster, which is the second head cluster of the first TDMA.
 15. Therecording medium of claim 13, wherein the first indicator has a size ofup to four clusters, which are the second, third, fourth and fifth headclusters of the first TDMA.
 16. The recording medium of claim 1, whereinthe recording medium is a single-layer write-once optical disc or adual-layer write-once optical disc.
 17. The recording medium of claim 1,wherein management information stored in one of the TDMAs is transferredto and stored in at least one of the DMAs when closing the recordingmedium.
 18. A recording medium comprising: at least one recording layer;a plurality of temporary management areas on the at least one recordinglayer; and a plurality of defect management areas (DMAs) on the at leastone recording layer, wherein at least one of the temporary managementareas includes a DMA access indicator indicating whether or not therecording medium is closed.
 19. The recording medium of claim 18,wherein management information stored in one of the temporary managementareas is transferred to and stored in at least one of the DMAs whenclosing the recording medium.
 20. The recording medium of claim 18,wherein certain data are recorded in the DMA access indicator whenclosing the recording medium, the certain data being used to indicatethe closing of the recording medium.
 21. The recording medium of claim20, wherein the certain data are latest temporary disc definitionstructure (TDDS) information.
 22. A method of recording managementinformation on a recording medium, the recording medium including aplurality of temporary defect management areas (TDMAs) on at least onerecording layer, and a plurality of defect management areas (DMAs) onthe at least one recording layer, the method comprising: recording firstand second indicators in at least one of the TDMAs, the first indicatorindicating which TDMA is an in-use TDMA, and the second indicatorindicating whether or not the recording medium is closed.
 23. The methodof claim 22, wherein in the recording step, the first and secondindicators are recorded in a first TDMA located in a lead-in area of therecording medium.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first andsecond indicators are recorded at first head clusters of the first TDMA.25. The method of claim 22, wherein in the recording step, the firstindicator includes at least one first indicator unit, each firstindicator unit corresponding to one of the TDMAs.
 26. The method ofclaim 25, wherein the recording step includes: storing, in each of thefirst indicator units, a temporary disc definition structure (TDDS)information of the corresponding TDMA.
 27. The method of claim 26,wherein in the storing step, the TDDS information stored in each of thefirst indicator units is a first TDDS information stored in thecorresponding TDMA.
 28. The method of claim 26, wherein in the storingstep, the TDDS information in each of the first indicator units isstored repeatedly up to 32 times.
 29. The method of claim 22, whereinthe recording step includes: storing, in the second indicator, atemporary disc definition structure (TDDS) information of a last TDMA.30. The method of claim 29, wherein in the storing step, the TDDSinformation stored in the second indicator is a first TDDS informationstored in the last TDMA.
 31. The method of claim 29, wherein in thestoring step, the TDDS information in the second indicator is storedrepeatedly up to 32 times.
 32. The method of claim 25, wherein in therecording step, the first indicator units are recorded sequentially inthe direction of descending address.
 33. The method of claim 25, whereinin the recording step, a total number of the first indicator units isless than a total number of the TDMAs present on the at least onerecording layer.
 34. The method of claim 23, wherein in the recordingstep, the second indicator has a size of one cluster, which is the firsthead cluster of the first TDMA.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein inthe recording step, the first indicator has a size of one cluster, whichis the second head cluster of the first TDMA.
 36. The method of claim34, wherein in the recording step, the first indicator has a size of upto four clusters, which are the second, third, fourth and fifth headclusters of the first TDMA.
 37. The method of claim 22, wherein in therecording step, the recording medium is a single-layer write-onceoptical disc or a dual-layer write-once optical disc.
 38. The method ofclaim 22, further comprising: transferring management information storedin one of the TDMAs to at least one of the DMAs and storing thetransferred management information in the at least one of the DMAs, whenclosing the recording medium.
 39. A method of recording managementinformation on a recording medium, the recording medium including aplurality of temporary management areas on at least one recording layer,and a plurality of defect management areas (DMAs) on the at least onerecording layer, the method comprising: recording, in at least one ofthe temporary management areas, a DMA access indicator indicatingwhether or not the recording medium is closed.
 40. The method of claim39, further comprising: transferring management information stored inone of the temporary management areas to at least one of the DMAs andstoring the transferred management information in the at least one ofthe DMAs, when closing the recording medium.
 41. The method of claim 39,wherein the recording step records a latest temporary disc definitionstructure (TDDS) information in the DMA access indicator.
 42. A methodof quickly accessing a recording medium, the method comprising: readingTDMA (temporary disc management area) access indicator (TAI) informationfrom a loaded recording medium; determining whether or not the recordingmedium is closed based on the TAI information; and accessing managementinformation from an in-use-TDMA based on the TAI information, if thedetermining step determines that the recording medium is not closed. 43.An apparatus for providing management information on a recording medium,the recording medium including a plurality of temporary defectmanagement areas (TDMAs) on at least one recording layer, and aplurality of defect management areas (DMAs) on the at least onerecording layer, the apparatus comprising: a recording part to recordfirst and second indicators in at least one of the TDMAs, the firstindicator indicating which TDMA is an in-use TDMA, and the secondindicator indicating whether or not the recording medium is closed. 44.An apparatus for providing management information on a recording medium,the recording medium including a plurality of temporary management areason at least one recording layer, and a plurality of defect managementareas (DMAs) on the at least one recording layer, the apparatuscomprising: a recording part to record, in at least one of the temporarymanagement areas, a DMA access indicator indicating whether or not therecording medium is closed.
 45. An apparatus for quickly accessing arecording medium, the apparatus comprising: a pickup unit; and acontroller controlling the pickup unit to read TDMA (temporary discmanagement area) access indicator (TAI) information from a loadedrecording medium, determining whether or not the recording medium isclosed based on the TAI information, and accessing managementinformation from an in-use-TDMA based on the TAI information if therecording medium is determined to be not closed.